German submarine U-572

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-572
Ordered	24 October 1939
Builder	Blohm & Voss of Hamburg
Yard number	548
Laid down	15 June 1940
Launched	5 April 1941
Commissioned	29 May 1941
Fate	Sunk on 3 August 1943 off Trinidad
General characteristics
Class and type	Type VIIC submarine
Displacement	769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced 871 t (857 long tons) submerged
Length	67.10 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull
Beam	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught	4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Installed power	2,800–3,200 PS (2,100–2,400 kW; 2,800–3,200 bhp) (diesels) 750 PS (550 kW; 740 shp) (electric)
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Speed	17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged
Range	8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	230 m (750 ft) Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement	4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) 14 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds) 1 x 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 AA gun
Service record[1]
Part of:	3rd U-boat Flotilla 29 May 1941 – 3 August 1943
Identification codes:	M 42 493
Commanders:	Kptlt. Heinz Hirsacker 29 May 1941 – 18 December 1942 Oblt.z.S. Heinz Kummetat 18 December 1942 – 3 August 1943
Operations:	9 patrols: 1st patrol: 2 September – 2 October 1941 2nd patrol: 30 October – 29 November 1941 3rd patrol: 7 January – 10 February 1942 4th patrol: 14 March – 14 May 1942 5th patrol: 30 June – 3 September 1942 6th patrol: 12 October – 22 November 1942 7th patrol: 23 December 1942 – 11 February 1943 8th patrol: 10 March – 18 April 1943 9th patrol: 2 June – 3 August 1943
Victories:	6 merchant ships sunk (19,323 GRT) 1 merchant ship damaged (6,207 GRT)

German submarine U-572 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. Her keel was laid down 15 June 1940 at the Blohm & Voss yard in Hamburg as yard number 548. She was launched on 5 April 1941 and commissioned on 29 May.